What a Zoo!!!

Literally! We went to free day at the zoo today. So, it seems, did everyone else within driving distance. It was crazy! The cars were lined up at least 1 mile before the entrance. The normal parking lot was reserved just for handicapped parking. The overflow lots were overflowing and when we got there (only an hour after the gates opened), we had to park out in a huge field. There were people everywhere. It's the first time we've ever had to stand in line to see the animals. Wow. It was neat though, there were activity areas set up around the zoo. She played a fish pond game, got a temporary tattoo, had a hat personalized for her and decorated a cookie.

She also made me take this picture. It's hard to tell, but this is the guys working on the new lion pen. She is sooooo excited that there will be lions at the zoo again. She wanted this as proof that it really was going to happen.

One the way out, they made us leave out a back exit that I'd never used before. I kind of got lost, in a little bit scary part of town, but somehow ended up by where I had had some classes in college. I jumped on the highway there and felt pretty good about getting back on track. BUT, there was all sorts of construction and I missed the exit to get home. There was no turning back because I was still in a construction zone going one lane on the opposite side of the highway. There weren't even any exits off the road and when I could see the signs on the other part of the highway that was shut down, I didn't recognize the names of the roads or towns. I was seriously wondering where we would end up and how long it was going to take me to get home. Then I saw a sign for a town called Sparta. Now, I know how to get home from there, but I had no idea when I took the exit how to get from the exit to the town (ends up it was 7 miles of country roads, thank heaven for the signs pointing the way). Luckily, the road I was on, took me to exactly the right place where I could get myself home from. I was so relieved. So instead of a 40min drive it took about an hour and a half to get home. But we were safe, saw some neat country side scenery and most important the kids didn't seem to mind. Although, Alison did say at a couple points that she really didn't remember ever seeing this part of Michigan before. That's my girl.